


it only takes one hand (to reach out and help you)

by ChaddicusIX



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Chronic Pain, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-03 02:10:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5272631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaddicusIX/pseuds/ChaddicusIX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He still has days like this: he wakes up, stiff and sore, and the rest of the day follows suit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it only takes one hand (to reach out and help you)

**Author's Note:**

> Well. This is the first time in a while I've written something and actually felt motivated to post it. I'm not entirely happy with how it turned out, but I can tell I've reached the point where I'd just be staring at it and willing it to suddenly be better, which is of course useless and frustrating. Unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine, I own nothing, etc. Let me know if I've written something weird or made a typo I didn't catch.
> 
> Title from Can't Stop the Love by Neon Jungle.

 

Steve wakes up in pain, and knows right then what kind of day it’s going to be.

 

His back is sore, and his joints are stiff enough that he has to sit for a moment after getting upright before he can drag himself out of bed entirely. When he does, he cracks his neck, and then his back, and stretches as well as he can standing, and still the first few steps he takes are marked by the popping of most of his joints.

 

He doesn’t know why it still happens. The asthma’s gone, he can see perfectly, he hasn’t caught even a cold in seventy years, but he still has days like this: he wakes up, stiff and sore, and the rest of the day follows suit.

 

He wanders into the kitchen, immensely glad that Bucky stayed the night with Natasha; Sam’s the only other one home, and he doesn’t have super senses, won’t be able to hear his joints creaking from another room. He fumbles with the twist-tie for the bread a bit, but he manages, and once his toast is done and on a plate he grabs the jar of jam and -- it takes all of his strength to open it. He knows it doesn’t look like any different than an ordinary person just opening a jar, but he’s a super soldier, he’s supposed to have super strength, and using all of his considerable strength and only just being able to open a jar, well -- he’s glad Bucky’s not here.

 

He’s sitting at the kitchen table, nearly done eating, when Sam comes in. He’s dressed for a workout, and he asks, “You wanna come run with me?”

 

And Steve does want to, but he knows he won’t be able to outrun Sam by much, and Sam might not be able to hear his joints grinding but he’ll sure as hell notice when Steve doesn't even lap him twice, so Steve says, “Nah, you go without me. I’m taking a day off.”

 

Sam just nods, and smiles, and goes to leave, sliding past Bucky on his way out the door. Bucky comes in, and Steve watches him grin back at Sam, eyes roving down his body as he leaves, and feels his chest tighten -- not like he has to deal with his asthma coming back as well, thank god, but pleasantly. Bucky comes the rest of the way in and sits on the couch as Steve gets up to put his plate in the sink.

 

“A day off, huh?” Bucky calls, and Steve wanders over. “The last time I remember you taking a day off you were 5'4" and had just broken your ankle.” He’s grinning, and Steve tries to laugh, but it must come out wrong, or maybe Bucky just notices him kneading at his knuckles, because his gaze turns assessing, but he doesn’t say anything more. Steve turns on the news, and doesn’t pay much mind when Bucky pulls out his phone and starts typing.

 

He doesn’t really think about it when Sam comes in fairly soon after, either; back from his run early, but Steve doesn’t notice, rubbing his neck, the way he always did when it started hurting, like it would help even though he’s always known it never does.

 

“I’m gonna shower,” Sam says. “You want to join me?” Steve looks up, and Sam is looking straight at him.

 

He opens his mouth, and he’s not sure what he’s going to say except that it’s probably a refusal, but he glances at Bucky and the look on his face makes him reconsider. He isn’t actually saying “Go do it, asshole, you could use the stress relief,” but the way his eyebrow is raised and his mouth is quirked is certainly saying it loud enough.

 

“Sure,” Steve says, and Sam grins slow before leaving the room. Steve gets up to follow him, and he tries not to wince when his joints pop again, but of course Bucky can hear it anyway. He looks up sharply, but Steve just ignores him and follows after Sam.

 

Sam’s already in the shower by the time he gets to the shared bathroom, so Steve undresses quickly but carefully; there’s no point in dragging it out, but neither of them are in any real rush. He steps into the shower behind Sam, and Sam just turns them around so Steve’s right under the spray. He can’t help the groan he gives then; the water is a relief, if only temporary, and he just stands there for a moment before he feels hands in his hair.

 

They help each other wash -- Sam helping Steve more than the other way around, really, but he doesn’t say anything -- and Steve’s grateful when Sam just kisses him before turning off the water and stepping out, not doing anything more. As much as he would’ve enjoyed it, he thinks standing barefoot on the hard tile much longer isn't going to be worth it.

 

Once they’ve dried off and gotten dressed, Sam pulls him close and kisses him again, softly. “I’m gonna make some pancakes,” he says, as he backs up and then turns and walks out the door. Steve follows behind him, but he staggers on a step in the hall when he feels a sudden, stabbing pain in his ankle. He recovers, and he manages to avoid limping, but Sam has looked back at him sharply, and Steve just shakes his head before turning towards the living area while Sam goes instead to the kitchen. He stops when he sees Natasha on the arm of the couch, watching him patiently.

 

“What’s going on, Rogers?” She says, and her voice is sharp but he can hear the concern beneath it. Natasha raises an eyebrow and Steve just sighs, walking over and sitting on the couch next to her, taking a moment to turn and look at Bucky with reproach, but Bucky just keeps his eyes on the tv, and Steve isn’t really upset with him anyway. He turns back to Natasha. “Are you injured? Did something happen?” She asks.

 

“No,” he says, and he hears Bucky snort beside him, but he takes a deep breath and tries to figure out what to say. “The pain’s pretty much… always there. Some days are just worse than others.” Natasha’s eyes widen a fraction, and he can tell it’s genuine emotion, is still grateful that she trusts them enough to show it. “The serum fixed a lot of things, and I expected this to be a part of that, but it never really went away, I guess.” He feels a whack on his shoulder and turns to see Bucky staring at him.

 

“This whole time? Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” He asks, and Steve feels a bit ashamed, but Bucky pulls him in to hug him before he can say anything. “How often does this happen? Like it was before?” He asks.

 

“No, it’s not quite as bad as it used to be,” Steve says, and sighs. “It’s still enough to throw me off, though. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.” He looks at Natasha again. “There’s not much to do about it. Pain medication doesn’t really work on me anymore, and if the serum didn’t get rid of it I’m not sure anything will. I guess I just figured it wasn’t worth mentioning.”

 

This time it’s Natasha who punches his shoulder, before saying, “We don’t have to be able to fix it to help you deal with it,” and then she’s pulling him in, except Bucky hasn’t really let go yet so his arm’s trapped between them as well, and Steve can’t help but feel really warm, not just from being surrounded by people physically but because he can feel how much they care about him, and he wraps one arm around Natasha and the other around Bucky and closes his eyes.

 

After a while, Sam comes back into the room, walks over and presses his hand into Steve’s shoulder firmly, comforting. “The pancakes are done, and if I don’t get in the middle of a hug like that in the near future I’m going to feel left out,” he says.

 

Steve smiles.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me at communistpaladin on tumblr!


End file.
